On October 21, the pro-government media outlets Imedi TV, NewsHub (1;2), and Media Holding Kvira (1;2) disseminated the information that TV Pirveli and Mtis Ambebi were covering the October 20 protest using footage from previous demonstrations. In Imedi TV’s initial post, both media outlets were accused of manipulative coverage, but later, the graphic was corrected, and the screenshot from Mtis Ambebi was removed.
“Manipulation with archive footage: the radical opposition’s media is covering yesterday’s protest with old footage,” Imedi wrote in the corrected post, attaching two screenshots: one from TV Pirveli’s May 2 news broadcast and the other from a video published on October 20. NewsHub and Kvira Media Holding, based on Imedi’s initial information, accused both TV Pirveli and Mtis Ambebi of using old footage in their protest coverage, claiming that due to the low turnout on October 20, the critical media outlets used footage from previous protests.
The claim that TV Pirveli used old footage to cover the October 20 protest is disinformation. From the description of the screenshots published by the media, it is evident that the footage is from different protests held at different times. Additionally, the claim that Mtis Ambebi used old footage on October 20 due to the low turnout is also false.
The graphic initially published by Imedi has been corrected. In the original version, disseminated by the pro-government media on October 21 at 10:35, both Mtis Ambebi and TV Pirveli were accused of manipulative coverage. Imedi corrected the graphic at 13:19, as shown in the edit history. However, the information published by NewsHub and Kvira Media Holding has not been updated (as of 14:41), and they continue to rely on Imedi TV’s original claim.
The claim made by pro-government media that TV Pirveli and Mtis Ambebi manipulated the protest coverage is disinformation. The video published by Mtis Ambebi was recorded at Freedom Square on October 20, as confirmed by footage from other sources. The shots from Mtis Ambebi’s video match those in other media and photographers’ coverage (1;2;3), such as an ambulance seen in the same location in different images. This proves that the crowd seen in the Mtis Ambebi video accurately reflects the number of people present at Freedom Square on October 20.
The positioning of the fenced area designated for the media is also consistent in the various images.
Mtis Ambebi responded to the false claims made by pro-government media, calling the accusations lies and clarifying that the footage was recorded between 20:10 and 20:30 on October 20.
Pro-government media also claimed that TV Pirveli used old footage. In reality, TV Pirveli was not covering the ongoing protest live with this footage; instead, it was offering a montage of past demonstrations, as clearly indicated in the video description. Notably, the media outlet has not corrected its post, and it was initially published with this clarification.
TV Pirveli published the same video twice, but even the second post’s description clearly states “The path of protest toward the European Union,” indicating that the footage depicts different protests. Moreover, the video montage includes clips from various times of day and different protests, including footage of a crackdown, making it clear that the material does not solely reflect the events of October 20.
On October 20, TV Pirveli published multiple videos and photos from the ongoing protest, which provide a clear view of the crowd size (1;2;3).
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